2558 BC

Events in 2558 BC 1

• 2558 BC – 2532 BC Khafre and the Great Sphinx Pharaoh Khafre (c.2558-2532 BC) builds the second pyramid at Giza and the Great Sphinx -- the largest monumental sculpture in the ancient world, carved from a single outcrop of limestone bedrock. The Sphinx (73 metres long, 20 metres high) depicts a recumbent lion with a human head, almost certainly bearing Khafre's features. Its purpose is debated: it may guard the necropolis, represent the pharaoh as a solar deity, or serve as a marker for the pyramid complex. The famous Dream Stele between the Sphinx's paws, erected by Thutmose IV (c.1400 BC), records a dream in which the Sphinx promises him the kingship if he clears the sand from around it -- evidence that it was already ancient and half-buried by the New Kingdom.